Of Steam and Shuttles - Trains and Threads
by narrizan
Summary: A mission goes fine, except that it doesn't. Part 30 of the 49 Days series on AO3.


Of Steam and Shuttles - Trains and Threads

Notes: So again I found myself stuck for ideas, and again I waved my arms in the air and again Ascended_Sleepers, she gave me :~

"Let's go with Kanda, Lavi and General Tiedoll this time. Pre-season 1. On one of his first missions as an exorcist. The two of them end up failing it and General Tiedoll has to come to their rescue and Kanda totally blames Lavi. Mission details are up to you." - I love the prompt, but oh this was hard. ^_^

She is way too nice to me.

Usual disclaimers apply: Not for profit, for fun

..

* * *

..

Kanda Yuu is safe and comfortable in his room at the Order. He is sitting in meditation, Mugen resting on both knees. Slowing down his breathing, tensing and relaxing his muscles in groups, working his way from his toes, feet and ankles and up. Lower trunk, upper body. Inhale, exhale. Tensing his abdominals, slightly, supporting his midsection with breath and a straight spine. Inh- .

"Yu-u!" Oh for heaven's sake. Does nobody around here knock anymore? "I did knock but there was no answer." Wait, did the redhead just read his mind. "No, Yuu, you're just a little predictable sometimes." Kanda is a little relieved, but it irks him. Is he really?

"I've got the next mission with you, and Bookman is a little tired from his last outing so Tiedoll is coming with us."

Kanda inwardly groans. Tiedoll. Lavi. Tiedoll AND Lavi. Why can't Komui send Daisya instead of him. Surely Lavi is past the babysitting stage already.

"Daisya, is off somewhere with Marie. C'mon Yuu, I'm not that bad." Lavi grins at him from the doorway, "We're a good team, is why Komui sends us out together." Kanda's flesh is beginning to creep a little at Lavi's preternatural talent for saying what he's thinking. With an gruff exhale, he stands up.

"So when do we leave and where are we going."

"North again somewhere, there's unrest in a town called Huddersfield. It involves an abandoned folly, what might be Innocence or Akuma or both." Then Bookman Junior continues with a laugh, "or it might be nothing at all but Luddites 'machine breaking'." Lavi sighs,"still, we've got to go and investigate it."

..

The throb between Kanda's eyes indicates the beginnings of a headache. There are far, far too many people at the station, Lavi is bouncing between paranoid skittishness - which he understands - and boyish excitement - which he does not.

"It is JUST a train!" Kanda's fingers twitch, resisting the urge to smack his partner into unconsciousness. Weighing the pros-and-cons of such a course of action. He decides against it because he'll just end up having to carry the idiot as well as being subjected to Tiedoll lecturing on 'how it is not a good thing to attack your friends'

"B..bu..but it's THE Flying Scotsman Yuu!" As if that explains everything. "It is the fastest steam locomotive on the rails, not just in England, but in Europe! She's an amazing piece of engineering!"

"If you're that excited about a big piece of metal, you should've joined the Science Division and observe history from there, INSTEAD OF making my life miserable!"

Lavi ignores Yuu's lack of enthusiasm and launches himself at Kanda, draping an arm round him. "Yuu - don't mean that do, Yu-u?"

" 'nd quit making puns with my name. It is so very irritating, bad enough you use it in the first place." Kanda grumbles.

"Boys," Tiedoll's familiar voice calls out to them. "Train leaves at 12:25 and we'll get there about four in the afternoon, just in time for tea." The General hands some money to Kanda and tells them both to get some food for the trip.

Before Kanda can react or think, he is being dragged away by the arm. It is all he can do to hang on to his things and Mugen as well. "We'll just get apples and some Cornish pasties ok. Two each of each for each, should suffice." Kanda is actually grateful that the redhead has some clue about what to get, because in this press of people, he's thrown thinking out the window and is relying on instinct. Instinct - counterintuitively is telling him to stay with the redhead. The throbbing in his head increases.

..

The train journey passes without incident. Almost, because the idiot cannot help it and tries to plait his hair. So he unsheathes Mugen and just to make him nervous, Kanda goes so far as to take a couple of inches off a few strands of hair. That leaves him in relative peace for the rest of the journey, because now the rabbit is sat timidly - ideally this is how things should be - scrunched up into a corner next to Tiedoll, contemplating the lost ends between his fingers.

Meanwhile Tiedoll is halfway through a new sketchpad already, filling the pages with steeples, thatched roofs, rolling hills, yellow gorse and sheep.

After lunch, Lavi declares that he's going to stretch his legs and go for a walk down to the driver's cab to have a look. Kanda is certain that with Lavi's brand of wheedling, he will probably talk his way into driving the train for a bit even. He opts to ignore his travel companions and rest.

The sun at four cast long shadows, and the spring breeze is brisk. Lavi is grateful for his scarf, and Kanda snuggles deep into his long coat. The General seems oblivious, but he is well layered and his own dingy brown motley scarf hangs loose about his neck. A finder meets them and tells them that there is a horse and cart ready to take them to an inn where they will stay until their mission is complete. The place is just a walk away from the location where the disturbances have been occurring. Of course the finder does not say anything of the steep incline that leads up to the folly, even though there are marked walking trails. It is beautiful and wild out on the moors. Forbidding granite stone formation dot the countryside, the rolling clouds low on the hill and yellow gorse stark against the darkness.

The proprietor of the inn informs them that for two weeks past, walkers and ramblers whose paths take them past Castle Hill have disappeared. Some completely, with hide nor hair to indicate they'd been at all. A fortunate few, three to be exact, were found days later, wandering the moors with no memory of having been up near the hill at all. Because there is no explanation, the survivors have been interred in the psychiatric wing at the Royal Infirmary.

It's just coming up to six so Tiedoll gives them the go ahead to go up the hill first to investigate, and he will head to the hospital to speak to the ones that came back out. They will rendezvous back at the inn with their findings later at their supper.

Kanda yanks at his hair, it is all awry, frayed out from its usual tidy topknot because the ends keep getting caught in the gorse. There are paths of course, but he mutters under his breath at his own stupidity for listening to idiot rabbits in the first place.

"Straight as the crow fucking flies," he growls. He stops, and stands still. "Tch," enough of this nonsense. "Mugen, battou!" In seconds he is free from the catching thorns, and he strides - straight towards the monument, his blade merely a suggestion of silver in an after-image.

Behind him Lavi strolls along the path, that Yuu so kindly provides him with. Just as he said earlier, straight as the crow flies, and it shaves off time meandering the ramblers' path. "Thanks Yuu." he says purposely soft, Kanda hears him anyway and gives him a dark look.

They reach the top of the hill and stop short. In front of the entrance there is a clearing, where seems to be some shimmer in the air. The air is hazy and blurry and it is like they're looking through a large water droplet - and it hums. Lavi looks around him, then bends to pick up a rock. His aim is true and it goes through the centre of the 'haze' but it doesn't drop. It just 'disappears'. His stance changes immediately to one of offense, his hammer grown to head height.

The two of them circle the edges of the shimmer. It isn't quite tangible, but in the half-light of near dusk they can just about see it. "Do you think it's Innocence or Akuma?" Kanda just shrugs, wary and watchful. The edge takes them to one side of the entrance wall. The stone, darkened by moss and lichen. With one hand always on his sword, Kanda tilts his head and gestures towards the doorway. Lavi nods. Together they inch slowly their backs barely touching the wall, towards the opening. When they are at the doorway, Kanda stops, pirouettes past the door frame so they're now flanked on either side. He gives a curt nod, and Lavi answers silently in kind.

With Mugen held out in front of him he enters the dark. A second later, he can feel Lavi at his back facing the entrance. Lavi whispers, just so only Kanda can hear, "the glamour seems to be set in place and unmoving. People most likely just wander into it unwittingly." The puzzlement in his voice is clear, "I cannot see what's generating it though."

Kanda points to the stairwell to Lavi's right. Again they sidestep in a pattern they no longer need signals for. Kanda goes up the steps with Lavi at his back, hammer at the ready. To Lavi falls the more difficult task of going up the stairs, backwards. His lack of depth perception is no handicap and he does not complain. This how they work and he is fine with it.

The structure is just a stone tower with four walls, about five storeys high. The whole structure is made of stone even the steps. The only wood there, is the banister that fences off the stairs cut into the four walls and the beams which crisscross the ceiling. From the beams is a large hanging with light sconces which one presumably lit with a long handled torch. There is this night a glow, a dull green light, which means it is Innocence, and therefore, this could be what is causing the shimmer out front.

Just as they are two thirds of the way, they hear the familiar metallic whine and shriek of Akuma. There is no help for it, they have to act. Kanda jumps onto the banister, finds his balance quickly and somersaults across to the other side. As he flies through the air he slices through the lighting overhang and catches the falling Innocence deftly in his other hand. He lands neatly back on the stairs opposite Lavi just as the wood splinters on the ground below.

Once the Innocence is in his hands, the dinner bell calls the Akuma to the tableau of Exorcists. Opting to take the battle from the higher ground, they both head up the stairs. Lavi extends the shaft of his weapon, at the same time widening the hammer head and pushes the ceiling through. The first Akuma too close to the tower, gets hit in its star emblazoned face with a mouthful of stone and hammer of Innocence - and is no more.

There are only a handful of level ones and a level two that looks like a giant flying shuttle. Metal domed ends and instead of a pirn of weft, it has spindly claw like arms spitting out deadly threads. Lavi immediately throws up his fire snake in an effort to burn the threads. Whilst the level two is briefly distracted by Bookman Junior, Kanda jumps off the parapet, directing himself just slightly to the right of the Shuttle, successfully slicing all of the claws on that side.

With a scream of rage, the Akuma turns its attention onto the swordsman. Kanda lands on a level one below it. He makes short work of it even as he uses it as leverage to attempt to slice the Shuttling threading thing crosswise. However Mugen meets metal and Kanda's Innocence only dents it somewhat. The Shuttle spins in the air, perhaps in hope that one of its other claws will whip and injure the small, darting, dark thing. The duel begins in earnest. Without its claws paired though it seems it cannot spool out its deadly threads which is an advantage in Kanda's favour. The thing is a flurry of limbs and threads, even though it cannot generate new ones, and Kanda is a blur of twin swords and fury.

Lavi has manages to vanquish three of the other level ones through the sheer brute strength of Tettsui. From the ground he can see the one remaining level one targeting Kanda who is busy with the level two. "Grow! Grow! Grow!" And he smashes that last one into grey dust and ash. As he observes the fight between the Akuma and Yuu, an idea comes to him.

"Ten Ban! Raitei Kaiten!" Lavi uses the Heaven seal to generate a vast storm of lightning. He chants and directs the lightning to hit the loose threads dangling from its claws. He only has seconds to yell out a warning to Kanda, "Yu-uuu!"

Kanda already guesses what is about to ensue, he calculates he can land a final hit on the monstrosity, then once again landing on the ground with his back to the redhead, simultaneously shielding his eyes. The bright beam of a singular explosion can probably seen for miles around. "I wonder if Tiedoll can see that?" They say almost in unison.

..

That, should really have been and end to it. Akuma fought off and Innocence retrieved. But even before the final pieces of the Level Two touch the ground, the two are rushed at from the treeline.

"There the redhead! The one with the eyepatch!" A voice shouts. "He's the one with the hammer!"

"Yeah! Trouble if ever I saw it," pipes in another.

"Look this one's a furriner,"

"Is that a girl!?"

"Wow! She's pretty!"

Before anyone is aware, the dark swordsman melts away into the darkness.

"Yu-u! Wait! Don't … you can't leave me…." his voice trails off and Lavi sighs in resignation. Yes, Yuu just left him to the mercy of a lynch mob. He had been so looking forward to a decent meal too.

But he cheers himself up with the fact that two of them effectively called Kanda Yuu a pretty girl. He barely gets away with it, those two are just waiting death.

..

Lavi is dirty, grimy and hungry. He also needs to sleep. But he is sharing a cell with three others. They've been arrested for being drunken and disorderly and never mind his innate distrust of humans in general, but he would prefer not to tangle with them just at the moment. He however, is accused of the more serious crime of 'machine breaking'. He rues the joke he told Yuu earlier that day? Is it still the same day? He knows it is, except it just feels like several days have gone by.

Although alone, he is glad that Yuu is not here with him, because there is no telling what damage he will have done to the station and its occupants if he had been incarcerated along with him. And THAT, will have made Tiedoll's job harder to extricate both Exorcists, rather than just the - seemingly mild-mannered - one.

Eventually his cellmates, fall over asleep, and Lavi leans back at the wall on the other side. Through the cell bars, he can see the night sky, it is devoid of stars this night. It is getting quite late, so he figures that it must have been late when Tiedoll gets to meet up with Yuu, and they have to wait until the next morning before getting him. Except, suddenly he thinks he hears his name being called.

"Yuu, Yu-u!" He whispers as loud as he dares, not wanting to wake the others. He cannot see him as the barred window is at least a foot above his head, and there is nothing to stand on. He also does not want to expend unnecessary energy pulling himself up to look out.

"I've come to break you out," Lavi wants to bang his head on the wall.

"Yuu, this is NOT a good idea," he is hoping Yuu can hear him. "Get Tiedoll and bring him here in the morning and we'll all be fine."

"No, I can do this." Lavi knows that Yuu's pigheadedness works against him in the most disastrous way and this might be one of those times. The wall meeting his head might not be a bad idea, because maybe when he wakes up it will all be over. But it IS Yuu, and his intentions are good. It is Yuu coming to his rescue after all, so he might as well help him along and see how things pan out.

"What do you need me to do?" Lavi is lucky that is all he manages before he hears the sound of shouts and an ambush, and Kanda, is strong, but he know to temper it somewhat because no matter how rough these fellows are, they are civilians.

..

It does not stop him, Kanda Yuu from being hopping mad. He is glowering and he growls and spits.

"See I knew that she'd come back for her friend, that Jenny Furriner."

"I." Kanda grits out loudly above the din. "AM NOT A…"

Whatever he is about to say is lost in a huge shout, "OH HEY YUU!, Couldn't wait to see me eh?" Lavi does not want Kanda's lovely grasp of language to get them into further trouble, and hopes this is enough.

"We can't put her in wi' t' others."

..

So it is nearly four in the morning that Kanda Yuu joins Lavi, Bookman Junior in adjoining cells of Marsh Police Station, Huddersfield. They still think he's a girl. But that means he has his own cell. They did try to pry Mugen out of his hands, but his white-knuckled grip on it is so tight they have just left him with it. He is charged with the lesser count of 'aiding and abetting' the dangerous criminal in the cell next to his. THE absolute JOY! Kanda fumes. When he gets out, or rather when Tiedoll gets them out, heads - Lavi's first - will roll. That Tiedoll better hurry and all.

He stands leaning with his back to the wall and arms folded. He waits - patiently - for the morning to come.

At last he hears the jangle of keys, some few hours later, and the gaoler unlocks his cell gates first and gestures at him to come out. Lavi is led out in cuffs. Somehow they still think he is some dangerous rebel. The eyepatch probably does not help.

Before he can think anything else there is a big bear of a man, engulfing him in a hug, and tears - for fuck's sake - are streaming down his face.

..

"Yuu, my Yuu." Tiedoll sniffs into his hair. "You look terrible, but," Tiedoll gulps, " but I'm so relieved you're fine." He smooths the dark hair with those hands and smiles at him through the tears. "Now let's see about getting Bookman Junior out eh?"

"I'd leave him to rot," Kanda says maliciously.

"Yuu-uu, none of that kind of talk now." The admonishment is only a gentle rebuff.

Explanations fly, there is a lot of talk, hand gesticulating and even kind and patient Tiedoll, pinches the bridge of his nose, in an attempt to stave off a headache brought on by bureaucracy. There is even more talk, hand gestures and gesticulating, and eventually, finally, he manages to gain Lavi's release.

It is noon. They have been here twenty hours. There is not another train till nine that evening. So Tiedoll suggests that they go back to to the inn for some food, to freshen up and a change of clean clothes. It might be a good idea to rest until it is time to go for their train. Tiedoll smiles happily. The boys are slightly roughed up, but none the worse for the wear. In fact, though they might disagree, Tiedoll feels that the mission on the whole is a success.

..

On the train back, Lavi is much less buoyant and bouncy. He is tired enough, that he lets his guard down a little to sleep lightly. He is with one of the Order's General's after all and he is with Yuu. He is too tired to think about the implications of the idea of being safe, and Bookman is not here to prickle at his Bookman's conscience. Kanda spends the time in quiet meditation all the way back to King's Cross. Tiedoll, unbeknownst to the two, is happily drawing sketches of them both at rest, their faces free of lines, their faces free of worry.

.

Fin

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Notes: This is for posting date 29 Aug. If it was your birthday then, Happy Birthday for then! ^_^

Like I said this was hard, and although I feel quite accomplished having written it, I'm going to apologise if it does not hit the spot for anyone else at all.

One thing though, I don't swear much so really someone need to tell me if I need to add in more swearing, it IS Kanda after all, but swearing doesn't come so easily to me. So uhmm yeah.

Ascended_Sleepers, dear, I do hope I haven't missed the mark entirely with this. And OMG it kind of grew!

Plus, I slipped and this is a little later on as their a little too established in pattern here to be new to each other. Hope that is ok. *hugsquish*

As ever for everyone who comes to read, thank you, you are so loved. - Zan

Few things to note:

The Flying Scotsman refers to the Special Scotch Express, a service which first ran in 1862. (and not to the 4472, A1 class locomotive of the same name built in 1928, this was named after the unofficial name for the service) - Steam trains people, I love them.

"machine breaking" - was an early capital crime - so yeah Lavi was in serious trouble guys - that was first implemented in 1721, when the Luddite movement came about, due to heavy industrialisation. In the West Riding area, where Huddersfield is, it was all about the cloth and textile industries. Hence the Shuttles (for threads and looms)

Castle Hill in Huddersfield IS up a steep incline, and straight as the crow flies, believe me there is a lot of gorse. Ouch! ^_~. if you ever go, please do stick with the hikers' paths.

In Yorkshire, if you're a foreign girl, they might call you a Jenny Furriner. It is not meant rudely or nastily, and most of the time it really is a term of endearment. I don't know how legit it is but I liked it so I put it here. ^_~ If it's completely made up then its even nicer still.

Part 30 of the 49 Days series


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